With a steal and a score early in the second half, Marymount appeared to take control of their January 27 game with host Holy Child. The Lions’ six-point advantage represented the biggest lead of the day in what had been a back-and-forth affair. Then the Gryphons lowered the boom.

Holy Child (7-6) erased that 31-25 deficit by holding their opponents scoreless for the next nine minutes while unloading offensively with 22 unanswered points to cruise to the 53-38 victory.

Kate Hughes

“We switched from a zone to man-to-man and it gave us energy on both defense and offense,” said head coach Mike Duignan. “A lot of what we did on defense created transition buckets the other way. It got us on a roll, and we were able to spread the court and find mismatches once we had the lead.”

In the words of Holy Child head swim coach Kerby Lewis, Sami Jaile was “a bit nervous” prior to the 50-meter freestyle January 25 against Convent of the Sacred Heart. Convent’s elite program had placed first in each event to that point and was on their way to victory, so Lewis defused the intimidation bomb with a pep talk.

It worked. Jaile swam the race of her life, touching out her closest opponent, and shaved a two whole seconds off her previous best time in the sport’s breakneck sprint.

“She never gave up the entire race, finished hard and was rewarded with a victory,” said Lewis. “That has been my proudest moment this season. To have such a great result was amazing after seeing her a little anxious while discussing strategy.”

The Gryphons have many reasons to smile

Interestingly, the coach’s “proudest moment” came by way of her team’s lone win in a trouncing. More interestingly, it was Holy Child’s only loss of the season. The Gryphons are currently 6-1, and the team’s nascent success has caught their first-year coach by surprise.

The Rye Country Day girls’ basketball team battled 11-1 King valiantly Tuesday at home, but fell in the end 42-35. King’s Briana Brown was too much to overcome on both offense and defense — she scored 27 and limited Alexandra Osborn-Jones’ effectiveness for the Wildcats. Carolyn Binder was a bright spot for RCDS. She scored 14 in the losing effort. More on this game and the season later in the week and in the next hard copy of The Rye Record.

Carolyn Binder

The RCDS boys’ squash team was victorious, however. They swept host Delbarton 7-0 with strong efforts from each Wildcat player.

The Holy Child girls’ basketball team is now 4-1 since a 2-5 start after defeating Greenwich Academy 47-33 on the road Monday. Shannon O’Connor scored 10 in the win, and Molly Schauber chipped in seven to go along with 12 rebounds.

The Rye boys’ basketball team evened their record at 7-7 Friday at Somers, when they defeated the Tuskers 53-37. Three Garnets scored in double figures, with Chris Twyman leading the way with 18 points. After beginning the season 2-5, Rye has fought back with a five wins in their last seven games.

Horace Greeley and Rye put their undefeated records on the line January 19 in a battle of aquatic giants at SUNY Purchase. Although a handful of races were decided by airtight margins, the Quakers – reigning Section 1 champs – defeated the Garnets 105-79.

“This was our first loss of the season, so we’re still in good shape for Sectionals,” said senior captain Ben Rubenstein, a 2008-09 All-American. “We’ll stay positive, continue to improve and our swimmers will step up.”

Chris Lyons

The tone of the contest was set in the opening race when Horace Greeley’s 200-yard medley relay team touched out the Garnets by a tenth of a second. Rye junior All-American Kevin Hughes responded in the second race, however, by edging Matt Hadley in the 200-yard freestyle. Hughes also won the 500-yard freestyle. The marathon event ended with the Garnet just under three seconds ahead of the Quakers’ Taegan Clark.

It’s Madison Square Garden or bust for Holy Child’s winter track team. The Gryphons’ fantastic foursome – seniors Rachel O’Driscoll and Katelyn Racanelli, junior Brianna McLoughlin and sophomore Isabelle Despins – won the Independent School section of the 4×400-meter relay at the Millrose Games trials January 13 at the New Balance Armory in Washington Heights. In winning, the girls set a new school record of 4:23.8 and punched their ticket for the Millrose Games at MSG January 29.

“In my four years with the program there have been numerous individual accomplishments to speak of, but this is by far the biggest thing to happen to the team as a whole,” said head coach Declan Foley. “Coach Chris Mills and I have been very vocal about how good this group could be, and now I think they are starting to see it and believe it. Qualifying for the Millrose Games is a pretty special thing for a high school athlete; running inside MSG will be a memory they will never forget.”

The Athletic Association of Independent Schools race takes place at 4 p.m.

Obinna Nwakeze is on a roll that would make even the New York Jets envious.

Already an All-American and two-time prep school State champion, the Rye Country Day senior is putting together another dominant season for the wrestling team. Nwakeze is a perfect 15-0 this year in the 285-pound weight class, and is set on completing the season undefeated with title grabs at both the Fairchester Athletic Association and State tournaments.

Obinna Nwakeze

“I have watched Obinna mature into one of the toughest wrestlers that I have coached in over 20 years,” said wrestling head coach Rich Knazik. “He has a quiet and cool way about him, but on the mat he is all business. Obinna has big plans for himself this year.”

As impressive as his mat skills are, Nwakeze is arguably even better in the football trenches. He was an offensive and defensive lineman for the Wildcats, and was recently selected to the Westchester Chapter of the National Football Foundation’s Golden Dozen Scholar Athlete Team.

“I am honored to be named because it acknowledges the hard work I put into both sports and academics,” said Nwakeze. “At times after practice, I can be very tired; however, my parents have always considered academics a priority so I try to do well and remain focused.”

Loud chatter and perhaps a few paper airplanes flying around are what wait inside the classroom door for a teacher running late. It’s no different for the high school coach. Without anyone at practice to give direction, most athletes will aimlessly mill about.

So, imagine Vin Minotti’s surprise when, upon his 4:02 arrival to a 4 p.m. Rye Country Day boys’ basketball practice, he was met by the sound of squeaking sneakers and bouncing balls. The head coach could only smile as he watched his tri-captains – Jason Rogers, Lowes Moore and Patrick Manus – running drills sans coaching staff. The team-first mentality that has trickled down from the captains has the Wildcats off to a blistering 9-2 start.

Jason Rogers

“That moment was a real testament to this team,” said Minotti. “We’re such a cohesive group and that’s what the staff is enjoying. This is my fourth year running the program, and the kids have changed the culture. Team comes first – check your ego at the door.”